Looky what I found! **and now I have questions **

[basicliving]

Thanks for all the congrats. We have 4 out of 5 hatched now, and the last is pipping.

As two were pipping I put them under another broody that has been sitting on a dud for 6 weeks. One hatched and she is just cooing like crazy. The other should hatch any minute now. It's peeping as I type. The one that layed on the eggs is now sitting on 3 baby peeps. I'll post pics soon.

Penny

 

[dave_Cash69]

:cdcongrats!

 

[basicliving]

The two mama hens are in their nest boxes with their babies. The nest boxes are about two feet off the ground. There is a porch at the front of the boxes. Will the mama hens start taking the chicks out of the nest boxes soon onto the coop floor? Should I be concerned that the boxes are too high for the babies to get back into? Do any of you have and suggestions about anything I should do to make it easier for the babies to get back into the nest boxes?

I tried searching for any threads on this subject, but I'm not sure of what search words to use. I got pages and pages of results, and none seemed to address this topic.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Penny

 

[Marlinchaser]

I would seperate the broodies and thier chicks from the rest of the flock, and if possible seperat broodies from each other. The rest of the flock will pick at the babies(possibly injuring them)

The mother will take them out of the nest box thus dropping them 2 feet, and may or may not decide to settle on the ground with them.

 

[TXmom]

I think it would be better if you can set them up on the floor. You could put 2 cardboard boxes on the floor with part of one side cut out so the babies can get in and out....or could you possibly put dog crates or something in the coop? Or maybe 2 5-gallon buckets turned on their sides.

I don't think there's a "safe" way for those babies to get out of the nest boxes 2 feet off the ground. They probably need your help.

 

[FlewTheCoop]

You could try making little temporary ramps for them. lol. It could work.

 

[L*A*G*]

YAY!!!!! Congrats!

 

[PortageGirl]

Chicks are fluffy ultra-lights that just land with a sort of *poof* barely knowing it. She'll jump down a couple of days after they hatch and call her babies and they'll jump with teeny-tiny wings flapping, it's the cutest thing to see.

You can put extra bedding below for them, but they manage pretty well... though they won't be able to get back up.

If the mamas are protective enough, they'll keep other hens away, but that's not at all a sure thing. Some are better at it than others. Segmenting off an area for them is good if you have room.

 

[basicliving]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to section a small area for them on the ground in the coop and put in cardboard boxes with the front cut out for nests so they can come/go.

Second dumb question - about how long are the moms going to stay with the chicks? I'm just trying to figure out how to know when to let the moms leave the sectioned off portion of the coop and rejoin the flock. Will I just know based on the behavior of the moms? Just watch to see when they stop acting like they want to be around the babies?

I really don't want to over complicate this, but I also want to insure the babies are safe.

 

[PortageGirl]

The chicks will follow around the moms like little orbiting fuzzy planets for several weeks, they'll pile all over/under/around her and she'll keep em warm at night till they start to feather out and lose interst in being around her... try to keep starter crumbles where only they can get into a small doorway/hole/opening... and have feed and water available for the moms. They'll also pick at the mom's food though, no way to stop that and she'll take em out to hunt for bugs and peck at dirt. Broody raised chicks become more independant and self sufficient much sooner than when we do it.

You don't always have to seperate the two sets of hens, I never did and haven't had that trouble, but it can happen I'm sure.